First, I've been "into" environmental issues since I was a little girl. I don't know why but the planet's health has always disturbed me. When I was nine I started a lunch recycling program at my school where food scraps went to local farmers and paper waste was saved from the general garbage cans. The program (called EAT - Everyone Accomplishing Together) still exists today but has expanded to include plastic and glass recycling.
Second, we are on a well and septic. Now that I actually own my own home I want to be sure that anything we put down the drain will have a minimal impact on our septic tank and the drain field.
Third, it saves money - like mad money.
After doing some research I've decided on making the following:
Laundry detergent
Dishwasher powder
Wool dryer balls
Glass cleaner
Scrubbing cleaning
TODAY'S MISSION: Laundry detergent
I've actually made my own laundry detergent in the past. It works well, doesn't leave potent smells, rinses clean, and is about $0.08/load. Essentially a batch of the recipe lasts about a year for us - two adults, no kids, five dogs, two cats. That being said one of the adults is a big outdoorsy type - so think dirt, mud, and hunting stains.
A few years ago I thought I would have a blog where I would test a bunch of pins to see what I thought of them. Yeah, that lasted a few months... but one I keep going back to is the laundry detergent review I did:
http://purepindemonium.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-laundry-soap-diaries.html
This time around I used Dr. Bronner's rose soap and some beautiful purple jars. I had two boxes of the awesome plastic lids from a Manager's Special sale at QFC about four years ago - they are perfect!I'll be giving my mom a few too since she is also on septic and needs to pinch pennies since she's retiring in June.
Other cleaners
Since I was able to accomplish the laundry detergent today I found the recipes of the other cleaners I want to make and made a shopping list. As soon as these are done I'll post my accomplishments!
Dishwasher powder
Wool dryer balls
Glass cleaner
Scrubbing cleaning
If you haven't noticed I kinda like her site...
Thanks so much for posting this. I am so passionate about trying to make everything in my home be as healthy and natural as I can and the one worry that I always have is cleaning products. This is going to be a major game changer in our home. I have tried a few organic products out there. Not great.
ReplyDeleteBo Tolbert @ HJS Supply Co.